The Bigger The Beard, The Better The Movie

ANTIQUE BAKERY

As a young boy, Kim Jin-hyuk was abducted from his home — and every day, his captor fed him cake. Twenty years later, still battling his demons, he opens a cake shop of his own, staffed by a genius patisserie who used to have a crush on him, a boxer-turned-pastry-apprentice and his own hopeless bodyguard as a waiter. Hot guys and cake sound like a delicious combination, but the film tries to be character study, comedy and thriller all at once — and never quite gets the ingredients to blend well. Read the Japanese manga the film is based on to see it done right. (Unrated) Plays at 2, 4 and 6 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Movie Museum

DIPLOMACY

World War II has been a cinematic mine for decades, with every new film somehow still finding a different aspect to explore. This French-German production dramatizes the night when Swedish consul general Raoul Nordling persuaded Gen. Dietrich von Chlotitz to disobey Hitler and spare Paris. This minimalist production of an obscure scrap of history may alienate those who prefer their war films bloody and on the battlefield, but the implied destruction is just as haunting. We know how the story ends, but it is a dance of rhetoric to get there. (Unrated)

Plays at 1 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 and 19, and 1 and 4 p.m. Dec. 20 at Doris Duke Theatre

FORCE MAJEURE

A family vacation in the Swedish Alps goes rapidly downhill after an avalanche hits — but it’s not because there were any fatalities; it’s just that dad Tomas panicked and ran away in fear, leaving his wife Ebba and kids behind. Ebba can’t forgive his cowardice, and Tomas can’t deal with her judgment, and away the film goes. It’s a character study, lingering on gender dynamics and power struggles in families, but it’s excruciating to watch Ebba and Tomas lash out at one another.There are good insights to be had, but it hurts to get there — though maybe that’s the point? (R)

Opens Dec. 12 at Kahala Theatre